But Eve cut him short.
“Oh, Peter, Peter, thank God you’ve come!” she cried.
Immediately the man’s eyes were transferred to her face.
“What is it?” he demanded sharply. And some of the girl’s terror suddenly clutched at his heart.
“He’s found him. Will, I mean. Will’s the cattle-thief. He found him in the midst of re-branding. And he came right in and told––told Doc Crombie.”
In an instant Elia was sitting forward defending himself.
“I didn’t tell him who he was. Sure I didn’t, ’cos you said I wouldn’t get that gold if I did––if I give him away. I didn’t give him away, sure––sure. I jest told Doc where he’d find the rustlers. That’s all. That ain’t giving Will away, is it?”
But Peter ignored the boy’s defense. His shrewd mind was working swiftly. Here was his own unspoken suspicion of the man verified. The whole situation was all too clear. He turned to Eve with a sharp inquiry.
“So Will’s the cattle-thief. You knew it?”
The girl shook her head and wrung her hands piteously.